UPDATED 17:03 PM EST, November 15, 2012
Democrats and Republicans seem determined to skate perilously close to the edge of the year-end "fiscal cliff." They're sticking to their guns for now while offering just enough wiggle room to hint at a last-minute compromise.
It's just a matter of who blinks first.
Both sides have aggressively laid down opening demands for budget talks that begin Friday at the White House.
